Leo Norman

Let’s get digital: Savvy seniors keep connected with tech

Seniors everywhere are beginning to embrace digital devices for the convenience and connectivity they offer. A recent report from Pew Research found that some 42 percent of adults age 65 and older own a smartphone. That’s a sharp rise compared to the 18 percent who owned smartphones as recently as 2013.

So why the leap? Perhaps it’s the ubiquity of the technology. Or perhaps, it’s the potential. For Leo Norman, a resident at Holiday Retirement’s Genesee Gardens, it’s all about access—to everything.

A Holiday resident since December 2016, Leo is an outgoing and social man who made it a priority to get connected to his community’s wireless network. Leo uses the internet to keep in touch with his three children, who often send him photos of his seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

But it’s not all about email. Leo appreciates the practicality the technology affords him as well. He frequently checks his accounts and manages his bills online, but his enthusiasm for the digital world doesn’t end there. Leo says he loves to Google everything. His Google skills keep him informed and help him indulge his curiosity with a never-ending well of interesting facts right at his fingertips.

Leo isn’t alone in his enthusiasm for the web. For one, there’s Skip Biron over at Holiday Retirement’s Maple Suites. Then there’s the data. The Pew Research study found that senior use of digital technologies is enjoying a steady rise across the board. More seniors are on the internet than ever before, with 67 percent reporting active usage. And for the first time, half (51 percent) of older Americans have broadband in their homes.